The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles presents "Several Eternities in a Day: Form in the Age of Living Materials," a spring 2026 exhibition running from April 5 to August 23. Curated by Jill Spalding, the show features works by artists including Edgar Calel, Guadalupe Maravilla, Carmen Argote, and others, exploring the concept of "Brownness"—a fluid identity rooted in ancestral memory, animal kinship, and a profound connection to living materials. The exhibition is organized into three acts: large-scale installations, paintings and works on paper, and ceramics, offering a visceral and immersive experience that draws on precolonial traditions across the Americas.
This exhibition matters because it introduces a new curatorial framework centered on Brownness, moving beyond ethnic labels to emphasize sensory and cosmological knowledge. By featuring artists who engage with earth, water, and organic materials, the show challenges Western art historical narratives and highlights a growing interest among West Coast collectors in Indigenous and Latinx artists. It also coincides with the opening of LACMA's new Geffen Galleries, signaling a broader shift in how museums present art that is rooted in living traditions and environmental consciousness.